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mmmartie
Reviews
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Boring. Disjointed storyline & action scenes. Disappointing.
I really liked the first movie, but this one was disappointing. I was bored well within the first half hour and I kept questioning how long I would stick this out.
I'm not quick to give up on movies when I've committed to watching them. However, the more bored I get and the weaker the storyline, the more likely I am to browse social media or multi-task, which I ended up doing.
I would have been pissed if I'd paid to watch this at the theater. I watched when it premiered on The Movie Network, only a couple of months after released in theaters.
The storyline was lacking depth and much of the time it felt like a lot of disjointed/incohesive action and noise that didn't always make sense, like the action scenes were being used as a filler or to try to force things to be more exciting - especially in the first 45 minutes. It seemed like one rushed action scene after another, and it didn't make sense.
I thought it was starting to get better at 50 minutes in, but that feeling didn't last long.
The interaction between the two brothers was good though. They're both great actors, when given good scripts and storylines to work with. There were moments between them that were good, but they were always drowned out by the rest of the movie.
Most of the actors and actresses in the movie are great (in general). The acting wasn't even close to the biggest problem with this movie. I think they did well with what they had to work with. The scene edits, cuts, re-shoots, etc. Didn't help in the least.
The movie started to get more interesting 1 hour and 20 minutes in - when the story of The Lost Kingdom was being explained. Now all of the sudden it SEEMED like there was some meaningful storyline to grab onto that caused me to stop multi-tasking and pay attention. It was interesting. At least for a FEW minutes.
But then the storyline got overtaken again by the overuse of meaningless, noisy action scenes that did nothing to enhance the movie and I ended up forgetting what the storyline was (again) and what they were supposed to be doing.
I know it's an action movie, but for frig sakes, tone it down and make it meaningful in some way. The action scenes should strategically enhance the movie and add to the storyline, not detract from it. Make it matter and make it make sense.
Did the producers and directors even bother to watch and review the final product to see what a mess this was?
Wasn't there someone involved who could have stepped in to say, "I know we've had countless delays, but this is pretty bad and we just can't release it like this." I mean, it might have been better to just shelf it permanently and take the loss. I wouldn't want this in my portfolio or on my resume.
Can't say I didn't give it a chance and watch it all the way through. I won't be watching it again though.
My 3 stars may be too generous. I dedicate them to the cast and the few moments here and there where there seemed like hope for the storyline.
The Idol (2023)
It's a shame - it could have been good if...
This is a hot, disjointed mess. It seems like the creators/writers didn't have a clear vision for the show and the storyline, other than having an obsession with sex.
I see the potential for what it could have been, and there are some moments here and there that by themselves are actually quite good - but they don't get developed or continued in any kind of way that I as a viewer want to see.
If they'd focused less on the over-the-top, porn-type sex scenes and more on developing the storylines of Jocelyn's mental health and struggles with balancing her career, along with the shady guy inserting himself into her life and career, and becoming more and more controlling, with hidden motivations, AND they developed the characters' personalities to help draw us into their life, their thinking, and their struggles so that we actually CARE about any of them or hate them with a passion, then it could have been really great.
Instead, the characters are just shallow, the storylines are disjointed and somewhat confusing, and the frequent, over-the-top sex scenes dominate the show and detract from any of the more meaningful scenes.
I can't believe the cast would sign on for this, honestly. It's nothing to be proud of. :(
I give it more than one star because I feel bad for some of the cast, who seem like they may actually be talented if given a good script to work with.
Skinamarink (2022)
Beyond disappointed
I was really excited to watch this movie after reading some articles and opinions that called it a terrifying horror movie and stating its popularity unexpectedly spread like wildfire. I was also interested because it is Canadian-made and I believe I read the director filmed it in his own home. If it was that popular, it must be really, really good... right?
Virtually nothing happened in at least 90% of the first hour of the movie. Nothing. I had to fight to stay awake and to not give up on it. I wanted to know why some people loved it so much and what made it so scary, so I kept holding out hope.
There were a few brief moments where I thought, "Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Something is going to happen." It NEVER got anywhere.
I jumped once because of a really loud noise after endless silence.
In the last half hour, there was some whispering and some very random things happened after long stretches of silence and seeing nothing.
If I hadn't read the description of the movie before watching it, I wouldn't have had a sweet clue what the movie was about and what was going on. Honestly, I still didn't have a sweet clue what was going on, and it wasn't so much from confusion itself. It was because there was no substance and no storyline to the movie.
I stubbornly watched it until the end, questioning why I put myself through the boredom.
I'm just so disappointed. I really wanted to like and support the movie. The written plot had great potential and it makes me sad to think of what could have been an awesome movie.
I hate to tear the director down, because he's probably so proud of his work, but I'd love to see what someone more established in the horror movie business could do with the same plot.
Who Invited Them (2022)
I enjoyed it
I've watched (or tried to watch) a lot of bad movies lately, so I had no real expectations for this one. It surprised me and I actually quite enjoyed it. It was pretty predictable, but it kept my attention all the way through. I liked the main characters and thought the acting was good.
I didn't quite get the character of Teeny and why the kid was staying with her (I might have missed something while multi-tasking early on). I didn't feel she added much to the movie.
The ending left me wanting more, in a good way. I would recommend it and I will probably watch it again at some point with a family member.
Homebound (2021)
It had potential...
I actually somewhat enjoyed most of this movie. I wouldn't really call it horror though. It had real potential to be good, but it felt like the story was just never really developed. I somewhat enjoyed it up until the last 10-12 minutes when it just became really confusing. Was the dad as crazy as the kids? The ending was a let down. I think we can assume what happened, but it just didn't have any punch and felt like the writer or director couldn't be bothered. I've seen worse though.
Girl Missing (2015)
Worth watching!
Mom and I decided to watch a random movie when we couldn't find anything on TV. I had picked out a few and we gave this one a try. My expectations were somewhat low, and even though I thought I'd figured out the plot early on, it held my attention the whole way through. It was so much better than I was expecting. I thought the acting was great. I liked it enough that I will probably watch it again at some point.